Quetta stun Faisalabad in Hockey-5 C’ship

KARACHI: Quetta Warriors pulled off a stunning victory over Faisalabad Falcons in OGDCL five-a-side hockey championship at Lahore’s National Hockey Stadium under floodlights on Wednesday night.

Islamabad Fighters defeated Karachi Sharks for their fourth consecutive win and Lahore Lions thrashed hapless Peshawar Panthers who have lost all their four matches. 

Quetta defeated Faisalabad 3-2.  Right from the beginning, Quetta appeared well prepared. Rizwan, who appeared the most energetic player on the field, put Quetta ahead in the 3rd minute. The goal fired up the tempo and good pole to pole game was witnessed.

Rizwan doubled the lead in the second period with another superlative reverse hit. 

Faisalabad were desperate for a goal which came their way early in the third period through Abu Bakr’s long hit.

Thereafter, they made a number of attacks and finally captain Dilber Hussain made it 2-2 with a good flick from a difficult position with just two minutes to go.

It seemed the two sided would leave the ground with one point each. But there was a twist in the story. Rizwan sent a superb cross which Quetta’s captain Kashif Ali netted to give his side a well-deserved 3-2 win. 

Rizwan was named the Man of Match.

In the first match, Islamabad Fighters were at full strength with their internationals Arslan Qadir and Ejaz back in action. They dominated the first period and were 3-0 up when first 12 minutes finished with two goals coming from Arslan Qadir. They added a fourth goal early in the second period and then slowed the proceedings. Islamabad made it 5-0 just two minutes into the third period. But Karachi refused to go down tamely and recovered magnificently. In a four minute spell, they put in three goals with M Asif scoring two beautiful goals.

At 5-3, it could have been anyone’s game. Islamabad breathed a sigh of relief when Rizwan Sr netted their sixth goal.

In the third match, Lahore Lions thrashed Peshawar Panthers 5-2. It was a match between two teams at the bottom — the 4th placed Lahore and the last-placed Peshawar.

Lahore roared at the start and went ahead in the third minute. Afzal Yaqub found the net after a good 1-2 with Rana Sohail. Lahore dominated the first 15 minutes. Peshawar’s first good combined move resulted in an equaliser through Faisal Rasheed. 

In the last couple of minutes Lahore repeatedly raided the opponents’ goal and Rana Sohail made it 2-1 a minute before the end of the first period. 

Peshawar wasted a chance early in the second period. Lahore exerted a lot of pressure and Faizan Jonty netted his team’s third goal. Peshawar created a few good chances just before the end of the second period but failed to score.

In the third period, Emad Butt scored his side’s fourth goal off a wonderful Rana Sohail pass.

Then his own long pass was beautifully turned in by Usman Malik through a reverse hit. Down 1-5, the wounded Panthers looked to salvage some pride and made frequent raids. Amjad Ali Khan’s strong push beat the Lahore goalkeeper all ends up. That boosted Peshawar and they put Lahore goal under siege for a considerable time.

A number of attempts were made but the final score stood at 5-2 for Lahore. Lahore’s goalkeeper was declared Man of Match.